Dear Cloud
by Obsessive Kitten
Summary: PG-13 for later chapters. Okay here's the summary: Tifa writes a letter to Cloud, expressing how she feels about herself in relation to him, what he did, and what he should do. Twist at the end.


Disclaimer: FFVII? Yeah, that's not mine.  
  
[A/N: Okay, to some people, if I don't explain, this won't make sense. Tifa is writing a 'letter' to Cloud, not one she intends to send, one reason being because she has no clue where he is. It's one of those letters that you write to calm yourself down. Yeah.]  
  
"Dear Cloud,  
  
It used to make me cry. Well, you used to make me cry. Every night when you weren't there, I'd cry myself to sleep. Yep. I, Tifa Lockhart, one of the saviors of the Planet, would cry.  
  
Do you know why I cried? I could never tell you this in person, and now I will never get the chance to tell you; but I loved you. I loved you will all my heart and soul. I tried to tell you, numerous times. And...after that last night we spent together, I thought that you knew. But, maybe you didn't.  
  
Then why did you leave? Leave all of your friends behind like that. Did you want more attention? Because if that was the case, then you certainly got it. Cid and Nanaki searched in the Highwind, while Barret, Yuffie and myself scoured the land on foot. Vincent pulled the same disappearing act as you did, I assume for personal reasons, and also like you, I haven't seen him since. Even though we did our best and searched for months, we never found you.  
  
Are you dead? No, wait, you couldn't be. Not Cloud, our leader. You wouldn't let yourself die like that. Maybe you just want to appear as though dead. Or, like I once was, are you struggling for life?  
  
Don't worry Cloud. You'll fine your salvation someday. I did. My solace rests in the dark green eyes and the strong arms of my lover and husband, Brendan. A few months after you left, and we had all given up, Brendan found me. I was sitting alone in the clinic of the rebuilt town of Mideel. I had taken up the hobby of caring for the sickly, and after Meteor, there wasn't a lack of work. Brendan was a patient, one of his arms had been broken in a fight, and the nearest place to bring him was here. Even though I always put on a smile, Brendan saw that I was unhappy. He somehow knew, as I most definitely did know that I was just a shadow of the person I was before you were gone. But after Brendan was well and I got to know him better, we began to date and eventually fell in love. It took lots of time, but I have finally been restored, to even more than I ever thought I could be.  
  
I hope fate is as kind to you as it has been to me. Maybe in the form of a bright eyed blonde? Someone more like Aeris, and less like me. Aeris...I always admired her. She was strong when I was weak; she was perfect when I was nothing. I was 'Nothing', to you, at least. After Sephiroth...did that to her, though, you went out of your way to be around me, to talk to me and even once, to hold me. I thought that...never mind. It's not important.  
  
And finally, Cloud Strife, I pray that you stay gone. I don't know why you left, and I don't want to know. I'm also not quite sure what I, or anyone else, would do if you just came waltzing into our lives again. Grinning in that cocky little way and expecting me to fall into your arms and tell you it is all going to be okay not that you were back. So just please, stay gone. Live your life, of course, but please, live it away from me. And the others, if possible, I know of at least two who would take pleasure in seeing you dead.  
  
Don't get me wrong; I don't want to forget you. I will always remember you, who you were, who you weren't, and who I so desperately wanted you to be. What I so desperately wanted you to feel, even though I secretly knew you wouldn't. I'll always remember the way you marched around barking out orders. You were our strength, and for that we all thank you. But most of anything, I'll always remember how you made me feel. And if you never listen to another word in your life, listen to this: Never make ANYONE feel that way again. Because, trust me, no one deserves to feel worthless.  
  
Good-bye, Cloud Strife. I hope that you are well and in good spirits. I also hope that you have figured out where you stand.  
  
Sincerely,  
  
Tifa Lockhart"  
  
"Well, what do you think, Brendan?" Tifa asked once she had finished reading the somber letter aloud to her husband. She stood from her desk, carrying the letter in her hands. Her hair had been styled differently in the past year; she had cut it a little shorter. She no longer tied it back in the loose ponytail because there was really no need. Usually she wore it loose so that the waves of mahogany locks floated about her waist. Her eyes were the same cherry hue as they always had been, and even though she went through the turmoil of the Planet they hadn't lost their fiery spark. The blue silky nightgown dragged the floor as she walked bare-footed to the large bed that she and her husband shared. The nightdress was close-hung, so it showed off her shapely curves. She handed the letter to Brendan before she crawled up into bed and under the safety of the downy blankets. She put her hands on Brendan's bare, muscular chest, caressing him gently as she watched him read it again.  
  
"Well Tifa, it's...nice, but why did you write it?" The handsome green-eyed man asked, handing her the papers. He brought his hands up to his face and ran them through his hair, which was the same hue as Tifa's, but shorter and very curly. Some days he'd pull it back into a ponytail, but he usually just let it hang neatly down, grazing the tops of his shoulders. "After all, you don't even know where he lives." He rolled over onto his side and propped himself up on his elbow, his large hand propping his smooth chin upright.  
  
"Because I wanted to get him off of my mind. For good." Tifa smiled as she leaned forward and kissed her husband softly before putting the letter in her nightstand drawer. She reached up and turned off the bedside lamp, and then lay down next to Brendan. She pulled the covers up to her chin; then a pair of strong arms pulled her even closer to Brendan holding on tightly. She closed her eyes and whispered, "I love you."  
  
They were too absorbed in sleep and each other to notice the flashlight shining in their window, the heavy thud of boots and the soft, dull clanking of a very heavy sword concealed in a sheath...  
  
[A/N: Hmm. I've got an idea for what to do with this story...but I'm not sure if it's very good. {Or original.} So don't expect something from me too soon unless I get LOTS of reviews. {And/or just a few really encouraging ones.} Flame me if you must, but please make them legitimate. {Not: 'Your story sucks!' Please give me a reason why it sucks. IE: Your spelling/grammar was awful. Or something similar to that. } Wow, I'm sorry that A/N was so long. Bai!! ^_^] 


End file.
